Amusement device



S p 1969 A. J. GREENBLATT AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed June 26, 1967 INV-ENTOR Abraham J. Greenb/aff BY %y( ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,466,796 AMUSEMENT DEVICE Abraham Jacob Greenblatt, Dallas, Tex., assignor to Dell Plastics Company, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 26, 1967, Ser. No. 648,802 Int. Cl. A63h 33/26 US. Cl. 46--241 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application discloses an amusement device or the like in the form of a spiral of wire and a spinner which travels along the spiral and reverses at each end due to the spacing of the courses of the spiral. The spinner adheres to the spiral due to a magnet therein. In a preferred embodiment, the spiral of wire may have a handle formedon one end.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide an inexpensive yet interesting and quite sturdy and longlasting toy or amusement device for children and adults. Another object is to provide an amusement device or the like which is fabricated from a minimum number of very inexpensive components, yet which is not subject to being easily broken or rendered inoperative, while at the same time providing modes of operation which maintain the interest of the user over a long period of time. Another object is to provide an improved magnetic wheel or spinner type toy which exhibits a novel and unique traveling motion on a spiral path.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, a spinner or wheel having magnetic or magnetized tips is caused to travel along a spiral of wire. The spacing of the courses of the spiral may be increased at each end of the spiral to cause the spinner to reverse its direction as it shifts between the inner and outer faces of the spiral. By imparting a circular or oscillatory motion to the spiral, the operator may cause the spinner to run continuously up and down the spiral, reversing at each end. The spiral may be a spring-like device having a handle portion formed integrally therewith on one end. Also, one end of the spiral may be flared out to provide a base upon which the device may rest. The spinner may contain a permanent magnet in a through bore, along with tips former of ferrous :material, the tips having tapered and rounded ends to produce smooth and even motion. The body of the spinner may be of plastic or wood in various shapes and sizes.

The novel features believed characteristic of this invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of particular embodiments, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the toy of this invention with the spinner in place;

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view in section of the device of FIGURE 1 taken along the line 22 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the roller or spinner used in the toy of FIGURE 1 or 2;

FIGURE 4 is an elevation view in section of the spinner of FIGURE 3, taken along the line 4-4 in FIG URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of a spinner for use in the toy of FIGURES 1 and 2; and

FIGURE 6 is an elevation view in section of the spinner of FIGURE 5, taken along the line 6-6 in FIG- URE 5.

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With reference to FIGURE 1, an embodiment of the invention is shown which comprises a spring-like device 10 composed of a helix or spiral of metal wire. The material used for the wire is preferably a ferrous metal since the magnet or magnetized tips of the spinner must be attracted to the wire. In the embodiment of FIGURE 1, the helix or spiral includes, a central portion 11 which is of fairly constant diameter for several turns or courses, with the spacing between courses of the helix being such that the magnetized tips on a spinner 12 engage adjacent courses. The spinner 12 will thus roll along the courses of the spiral in the central portion 11 in either direction. The embodiment of FIGURE 1 further includes a handle-like portion of the spring device 10 which functions as a handle for holding the device while in operation. The opposite end of the spring-like device 10 may be flared out to provide a base portion 14 upon which the device may be supported upright while in operation if desired. It is noted that the base portion 14 is formed by merely widening the diameter of the spring-like device. For example, the diameter of the device 10 in the central portion 11 may be about 2 /2 inches, whereas the diameter at the base 14 is about 3 inches.

In operation, the spinner 12 when placed on the springlike device 10 in a position such as shown in FIGURE 1, will adhere to the metal spiral due to the magnetized tips as will be described. When held in an upright position as seen in FIGURE 1, the slant of the courses of the spiral will cause the spinner 12 to rotate and thus travel downwardly along the spiral. Of course, if the device 10 is turned upside down, the spinner would travel in the opposite direction. An important feature of this invention, and one which provides the unique mode of operation of such an amusement device, is the spacing of the courses of the spiral 10 at opposite ends of the central portion 11 whereby the spinner is caused to reverse itself and travel back along the spiral in the opposite direction. To this end, the distance between courses of the spiral is increased to at least the distance between the outer ends of the tips on the spinner 12 at positions 15 and 16 as seen in FIGURE 1. As best seen in the sectional view of FIGURE 2, which shows in dotted form the position of the spinner 12 at various operational positions, it will be noted that after the spinner 12 has traveled down the outside of the spiral and reached the position 15 where the spacing widens out, the spinner will cross through the courses and, since it is continuing to spin in the same direction due to its own momentum, it will continue to travel along the spiral but in this case it will be moving back up the spiral on the inside face thereof. The momentum which the spinner gathers in moving down the outside face of the spiral will cause the spinner to move back up the inside of the spiral a considerable dis tance Without further motion or effort on the part of the person operating the device. However, a unique and interesting feature of the device is that by grasping the handle 13 and imparting a slight oscillatory or circular motion to the device 10 at the time when the spinner is starting along its path up the inside of the spiral, the spinner can easily be caused to travel all the Way back up to the top of the spiral with very little effort on the part of the operator. When the spinner 12 reaches the top of the spiral at the position 16 where the courses again spread out, the spinner will pass through the courses of the spiral and continue back down the outside face of the spiral as before. Of course, in traveling back down the outside of the spiral the spinner will gain considerable momentum, and during this part of its travel it need not be aided by rotary motion on the part of the person grasping the handle 13. The spinner 12 will thus move continuously up and down the spiral 10, passing between the inside and outside faces of the spiral at the positions 15 and 16, with very little effort and urging on the part of the operator. It will be noted that instead of moving the handle 13 in a slight oscillatory or circular path to cause the spinner 12 to move up the inside of the spiral as described above, the device may instead be merely turned upside down each time the direction of movement of the spinner reverses at one of the positions 15 and 16 and so that in effect the spinner will always be running down hill. For example, the device may be held by the handle 13 while the spinner is going in a downward direction as seen in FIGURES 1 and 2, and then may be turned over and placed on a fiat surface wherein it will be supported by the base 14 while the spinner moves along in the opposite direction, this being of course reversed when the spinner reaches the position 16.

Two illustrative embodiments of the spinner 12 will now be described with reference to FIGURES 3-6, although it is of course understood that the spinner may take various forms as will be apparent. As seen in FIG- URES 3 and 4, the spinner may comprise a pair of discs 17 of plastic to produce a flying saucer shaped device. The plastic discs 17 define a central bore wherein is contained a permanent magnet 18 in the form of a cylindrical shaft or bar. Iron tips 19 provide the pole pieces for the magnet 18 and also provide the tips upon which the spinner rotates. The tips 19 are tapered as shown and rounded on their ends to produce smooth travel of the spinner along the spiral. The fact that the tips are tapered produces the function of evening out the travel of the spinner along the spiral since vertical displacement of the spinner away from a central position between the courses of the spiral will cause one end to tend to move faster than the other along the spiral, thus causing the advancing end to pull away and travel on a portion of the tapered tip of smaller diameter, permitting the other end to catch up. The result of this arrangement is that the spinner 12 will maintain itself centered between adjacent courses of the spiral. The ends of the tips 19 are rounded to provide a smooth traverse between outside and inside faces of the spiral at the positions 15 and 16. As the spinner reaches the points where the spacing between courses is exactly equal to the distance between the outer end of the tips 19, the rate of movement of the spinner along the spiral will approach zero since the diameters of the portions of the tips engaging the spiral will approach zero. Thus, at the point of transistion from outer to inner face, the spinner will be virtually at rest and so the transition occurs smoothly and with little likelihood that the spinner will be deflected off of the spiral. The parts of the spinner of FIGURES 3 and 4 are held together by adhesive, by a snap action of the disc 17, or by force fit. The discs 17 may be of a colored transparent plastic for pleasing appearance, and of course the discs 17 may be formed or punched in a pattern of holes if desired. A simple wheel may be defined by the shape of the discs 17 rather than the flying saucer appearance.

With reference now to FIGURES 5 and 6, another form for the spinner is illustrated. In this embodiment the spinner 12' includes a magnet 18 and tips 19 in a central bore just as in the device of FIGURES 3 and 4, but the body of the spinner is provided by a wooden ball 20 which would be sphere having a through bore. The wooden ball may be painted a bright color for pleasing appearance. It is apparent that the spinner 12 may take various forms, including those of figures such as a clown or animal, or may be a symmetrical shape as illustrated in FIGURES 36. The important feature of the spinner, however, i that the spacing of the tips be correlated with that of the spiral device 10, that a magnet is included to cause the spinner to stick to the spiral, and preferably that the tips be tapered and shaped generally as shown.

It will be noted that while the spacing between courses of the spiral and the central portion 11 of the spring-like device 10 should be less than the distance between the outer ends of the tips 19, and the spacing should increase at the parts 15 and 16 as described above, nevertheless this spacing is not particularly critical in the usual sense. That is, the spacing in the central portion 11 may vary over quite a wide range as may be noted by examining the shape of the tapered tips 19 in FIGURES 4 or 6. The only effect of closer than optimum spacing would be that the spinner would travel faster than perhaps desired, whereas wider spacing would merely slow down the spinner. Also, there is no exact position where the spacing should increase to the tip-to-tip distance at the reversing positions 15 and 16. So long as the spacing widens out to at least this distance it is immaterial that it increases beyond this distance because the spinner will merely reverse at the point Where the spacing is exactly equal to the tip-to-tip distance. Accordingly, the device 10 may be subjected to considerable abuse in manufacture, shipment, display, and in use without being rendered inoperative. Also, if the spring-like device becomes distorted by accident it may be restored to the proper spacing by merely bending, compressing or stretching the courses of the spiral with no great degree of criticality being involved.

While the device 10 is shown in the form of a spiral having a central portion 11 of generally constant diameter with a handle portion 13 of narrower diameter and a base portion 14 of wider diameter, it is understood that the spiral may take various forms. For example, it may be a simple cylinder shape, or may be cone shaped. Also the spiral may define a cylindrical shape which is tapered to a smaller diameter at both ends, and a handle 13 may be formed on both ends of the device. Rather than being circular in cross section, the spiral of wire may define an elliptical shape, or any other shape so long as rounded corners are provided. Also, it is understood that the terms helix and spiral as used herein do not refer to the strict mathematical definition but instead to the more general form.

What is claimed is:

1. An amusement device comprising a helix, a spinner including tips extending outwardly along an axis thereof, the spinner including magnetic means whereby the tips are magnetically attracted to the helix, the spacing between courses of the helix being such that the tips engage the helix over at least a portion of the length of the helix.

2. An amusement device according to claim 1 wherein the spacing between the courses of the helix increases along at least one part thereof to at least the distance between the outward ends of the tips whereby the spinner may pass between the inner and outer faces of the helix.

3. An amusement device according to claim 2 wherein the spacing between courses of the helix is substantially constant such that the tips engage the helix over the central portion of the helix and increases along parts at opposite sides of the central portion whereby the spinner may repeatedly traverse the length of the central portion of the helix by passing between inner and outer faces.

4. An amusement device according to claim 3 wherein the helix is a metal spring-like member and the diameter of the member decreases at one end thereof to define a handle in a unitary structure.

5. An amusement device according to claim 4 wherein the diameter of the member increases at the other end to provide a broad base for supporting the device in an upright position.

6. An amusement device according to claim 1 wherein the spinner includes metallic means extending along the central axis thereof, the metallic means including a magnet.

7. An amusement device according to claim 6 wherein the metallic means includes tapered tips at each end, the ends of the tapered tips being rounded.

8. An amusement device according to claim 6 wherein the metallic means is separate from the magnet, and the 5 6 spinner includes outwardly extending generally flat disc References Cited means ITED T P N 9. An amusement device according to claim 7 wherein UN ES ATE TS the p g ween courses of the helix is substantially #8323; 13%; g g i jgfi t t 11 th ti (1 h 1' th 1 l1 W115 811 SW that e P engage e 1 v r e cen 5 3217446 11/1965 Steitert 46 242 tral portion of the helix and increases along parts at opposite sides of the central portion whereby the spinner may repeatedly traverse the length of the central portion LOUIS MANCENE Pnmary Exammer of the helix by passing between inner and outer faces. ROBERT F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner 

